Wednesday, December 07, 2011

Since the creation of the State of Israel the question of aliyah from America has been a touchy topic. The old and bitter joke was "Definition of a Zionist: Someone who gives money to an organization to send another Jew to live in Israel". So Israel has tread lightly on its call for the in-gathering of America's Jews to the homeland.

So what's happening now is an angry reaction to our call to Israelis living in America to come back home!

Wow!

In an op ed piece in the NY Times entitled "Come Home to Israel", an offended Roger Cohen shares his insight with statements like

"I know several Israeli expatriates or would-be expatriates and their feelings are consistent. They are troubled by the illiberal drift of Israeli politics, the growth of a harsh nationalism, the increasing influence of the ultrareligious, the endlessness of the “situation,” and the tension inherent in a status quo that will one day threaten either Israel’s Jewishness or its democracy."

He also chides the Jewish State for failing to recognize that

"President Barack Obama is offended (by ongoing settlement expansion in the West Bank against his express request)."

Problem is that Roger can't seem to accept that Obama is America's president. He is not Israel's leader.

In the old days, American Jews were upset about Israeli Aliyah activists trying to "steal" their kids. Now they're upset about our attempts to bring our own citizens back home??!